Karo
Karo is a member of Troika who was assigned to assist Viriathus in an infiltration mission of Sabbaton Towers. Like Viriathus, he was also an orphan at Grunn's Orphanage. Appearance Karo's form appears similar to an archaeopteryx, microraptor, or some kind of ancient flightless creature. He has mostly gray skin with a lighter-colored town from the underside of his nose down through his body. His feathers are dominantly blue with some brown mixed in. The plumage on his head is styled upward to resemble spiky hair with two dark-colored strands that run off from around his red eyes. He also has wing-like appendages spread along the side of his arms and on his long tail. When Karo first appeared he wore the standard military clothing of the CCA Shock Troopers and during his second major appearance he was seen wearing the standard Troika jacket with long light-gray pants with black knee-pads. During the infiltration of the underground caverns he wore a dark-gray business suit with a white buttoned shirt, blue tie and black pants. Personality Karo is shown to have a mostly light-hearted personality, generally seen in a good mood and easily excited. He has no problem with making fun of others for dumb choices they've made, even during interrogations, and tends to boast about accomplishments he or his peers have made, regardless of whether or not they understand completely. When taking his missions seriously, he tries to stay on course with his objective as much as possible while not wanting to disappoint his superiors. History Past At some point, Karo was an orphan at Grunn's orphanage, just like Bobby and Vi. However, the current crop of orphans recall Karo being just as much of a prankster towards Grunn as Mace is, giving off the implication that Karo may have been an influence on the young Mace's behavior. Karo would leave the orphanage approximately one year before the events of the Prelude webcomic. While it isn't exactly clear how long Karo has been with Troika, by his indication he has been with them for at least six years as he's been training for that long to handle the kind of dangers to be had when working with them.Volume 4 Chapter 11 Volume 3 Chapter 8 Karo, along with Viriathus and another soldier, were put in charge of interrogating Bill, Damon and Woods (while under the guise of CCA Shock Troopers) in order to determine if they are worthy enough to join Troika. After going over their paperwork, Karo laughed at them for the kind of answers they put in. Soon they dropped the act and welcomed them to their organization. Volume 4 Chapter 10 - 12 The next day, Karo and Rumour are overlooking the training range, where Damon, Woods, and Bill are in training, with Vi as the drill sergeant. After the training session, Viriathus asked Karo to give the trio a tour of the Troika's headquarters, starting with the fermentae brewery. The three questioned Karo about the legitimacy of the Nightmares as they had doubts about Igrath and Troika's intentions. He kept straight with what they wanted to know while saying they have killed one they kept in their base. Sometime later, Karo is preparing for the Sabbaton mission as he quips about Rumour's disguise making him look like a "homeless magician". Shortly after, he and the rest of the squad depart on a telepad. Later, they make their way into an elevator leading down into the towers' foundation. Karo believes that Vi is aborting the mission and, out of frustration, attempts to take charge. But, Vi is quick to assert her authority with a grab of the arm and a verbal threat. As the squad reaches the underground lake, they are questioned by the security supervisor and his guards, who are looking for the protagonists after they dove in sometime earlier. When the super demands for some form of authorization after Bobby's facade fails, Karo simply walks over and knocks the super and his guards out cold. He then angrily throws a flashlight to Vi as the squad begins to dive into the lake. Later on, Karo and his teammates are walking through a short cave when they overhear Tendril talking with Tinsel. Moments later, they engage the Nightmare and Dark for a brief moment until Tendril grabs Tinsel and retreats into a tunnel in the cave ceiling. Sometime later, they enter the Archives tube depository before proceeding deeper into the structure. When Bobby exclaims that his Power goes out, Karo begins to casually insult him, but then claims that he can't activate his Power either. Vi orders the squad to switch to "reserve power" and they press on. Minutes later, they rush into a large room to find Namah. Suddenly, Tendril appears and instantly goes for Vi. Karo and the rest of the squad engage Tendril as Karo reports that their weapons are doing no damage. After Tendril is detonated by a sparker, Karo claims that he is "down a leg or two", but was alright. Later, Karo and the squad, along with Namah and Whip, find the hole leading outside the Archives as they spot Lilith, Bast and Tinsel. Karo loads a tranquilizer dart into his rifle and takes a shot at Tinsel, hitting her in the arm. As he handcuffs Tinsel, Tendril emerges from the Archives. Karo, the squad, and the protagonists retreat into a nearby cave. Rumour is downed during the retreat, but Karo is able to retrieve him and carry him on his shoulder as he continued to fight back. After Igrath arrives via the jumper and fights off Tendril with Vi, Karo and the others grab on and they are all transported safely back to Troika HQ. As the group try to recover from the battle, Karo is standing next to Rumour, who is motionless on a gurney. Later that night, Karo is sleeping with his squad mates in the med station. Equipment Modular Midrange MK III: A standard-use springer rifle commonly used by Shock Troopers and members of Troika, Karo was seen using it while fending off against Tendril. Power and Abilities Lightning: Karo's "Power" is the ability to create and control lightning. The exact strength of it has yet to be fully determined but it is able to pierce through the body of Tendril while still causing him pain. While active his halo resembles an electric blue ring. Expert Hand-to-hand Combatant: Karo has displayed proficient skill in unarmed combat, likely resulted from at least six years of training. He was shown to swiftly knock out four people, all adults while three were security guards, with little effort. Guns Specialist: As per expectancy of Troika, Karo is trained in using military-grade weaponry in addition to his Power. Trivia *Karo's design is mostly reminiscent of an archaeopteryx, a prehistoric-flightless bird that mostly resembled a small raptor. He is the first named Dreamkeeper in the main story to resemble an ancient animal, while being the second overall when including the one guard that escorted Lilith and her friends in the Prelude chapters. Quotes "I'm a nightmare killing machine. Believe it." "No time for bullshit!" "D''own a leg or two, I'll survive."'' Navigation Category:Males Category:Dreamkeepers